Just Surviving
by FluffyMustache
Summary: After surviving in the woods for years, gathering what resources she needs from the abandoned city, Lilly and Astro are leaving their home, their hopes to find a group. Even if it's only occupied by two...


"Come out, little girl, we just wanna talk!" a raspy voice hissed from around the corner of a dully colored wall.

Lilly barely had the chance to catch a glimpse of the large group of hunters before she was showered with bullets. She quickly twisted back into her previous position crouching against the wall, closing her eyes as the bullets whizzed past where her head would have been and hit the opposite wall in front of her. The collapsing wall squealed beneath the weight of the girl as she ghosted over to the corner again. The sound of whispers made her stomach twist and turn and her eyes narrowed in concentration while she tried to unearth the meaning of the quiet whispers coming from the group.

The pistols and automatic guns went silent and were quickly replaced by the sound of shuffling feet and shoes sliding over the broken glass and debris. Panic set in on the girl as she heard that they were coming closer in a hurry, but she quickly shook it off and hopped to her feet and bolted down the hallway, leaving behind the obviously unfriendly men. It didn't take long for them to jump into the chase, but at least she had a advantage of distance.

Her brown boots were pounding at the ground and her light green eyes were trained on the large exit door before her, the sunlight shining through the cracked and clouded glass. Persistent hunters were right on her heels and firing badly aimed bullets at her from behind.

Considering how eager they were to waste the lifesaving ammo, she was surprised they had made it so far into the sickening madness that was now the world they were doomed to die on.

Lilly's small backpack was flying behind her on oversized straps, making it slightly difficult to keep her steady pace with the extra weight dangling loosely on her shoulders. The bag was just minutes before filled with a good amount of canned food, her goal for the building being achieved. Her new goal was to get out alive with the lucky haul. It could help her greatly with the next few days.

With a final sprint, Lilly burst through the door, slamming it closed without looking back. Her black and white spotted horse was waiting as she had left him, grazing on a few greenish patches of grass and was suddenly alert and wary after realizing the oncoming danger. Lilly skillfully jumped onto his back and with a simple command and speedy kick to the flank, they were flying through the street, the horse surprisingly calm about the missing bullets running past him. The hunters were still feebly attempting to shoot down the pair, and failing.

Miserably.

After a few moments, their surroundings were no longer abandoned shops and tilting skyscrapers and were instead blurring trees and retreating forest animals. The horse and teenager silently sped down the unmarked woods, somewhat easily avoiding any unwanted attention from the wandering Infected. Lilly let out a sigh as she spotted a zombie, pinned to a bloody tree with a strong arrow, still squirming and groaning and seemingly in pain.

She turned her attention back to the unzipped bag, sifting her hand through newly placed canned goods, thanking the lord that she was lucky enough to have found it. These few cans would basically be her meal for over a week if it went by like it usually does. Then she would have to begin bow hunting again... Damn. Every time she tried, Lilly would be out for about 3 hours, half of that time being used up by rage quitting, throwing her hands up and saying 'Fuck this, I'm out,' then coming back a few minutes later after realizing she had no choice. Occasionally, she would get lucky and catch a rabbit or squirrel, but that wouldn't last long. So, in short, she was as bad with a bow as those hunters were with guns.

Astro, her horse, made his way back to their cabin without being helped by Lilly. They had the little trips to the city often and Astro, by now, was used to it. All the time on horseback, Lilly was planning out how quickly 6 cans of food would go by, eventually concluding the mini stash would be gone in a little less than two weeks if she used it appropriately.

After reaching her destination, Lilly threw her leg over to one side of Astro's back and slid down, landing softly on the marshy ground. She rubbed her hand through the horse's matted fur, then grabbed the reins, leading him to the side of the well used shelter and setting him beside a tub that was filled with water from the recent rainfall. No one, thankfully and surprisingly even the military, came through the woods. Or at least where they lived. It was strange, but Lilly never questioned it, happy that she and her companion were safe. For now.

Lilly grabbed the saddlebag hanging around the horses haunches as he drank from the tub and ran to the front door of her home. She threw open the door, hitting the wall behind it with a thump and a few hesitant creaks. She ran through the dusty but well kept for an apocalypse rooms and to a door at the end of a narrow hallway, treating that door as she did the first and throwing her pack onto a desk filled with a good collection of weapons, such as butterfly knives, shivs, and other types of guns and ammo. Opening the bag, Lilly pulled out a few handfuls of ammo and a new pistol, admiring how well she had looted the locations she had stopped at before the incident with the hunters.

She appeared to be a weapons expert as she matched the guns with correct ammo clips absentmindedly and with no trouble at all. And there was _a lot_ of guns and ammo. Lilly spent her ammo carefully and when she wasn't using it, hoarded it in the well lit room, hiding it behind unimportant items incase of a raid. It had worked so far, and obviously, it had treated her well.

She had been gathering more than she needed for the past few days. The reason, because she was planning on packing up whatever she could from her cabin and leaving to look for a larger group of survivors. It was beginning to drive her crazy that Astro was the only company she had other than the guys from The Walking Dead. So, she had been preparing herself for whatever might lie beyond where she had ever been, because surely it wasn't going to be easy to find a decent group other than those damn hunters.

After loading all the guns and packing the extra ammo for their departure, Lilly walked outside to check on Astro. He was standing by the tub, chomping on some carrots that she had left for him earlier in the day. Smiling, happy to see her friend, she walked to the horse and began rubbing his sides again, beginning to fantasize about a well established little town with happy families and friendly animals running about. The thought alone made her excited.

"Hope you're ready, Astro. It's a big day tomorrow," she whispered to her only trusted friend. He answered by letting out a pleased snort and a swishing tail, still absorbed in the carrots more than his dreaming owner. "Alright," she chuckled, noticing he wasn't paying much attention to her. "Night, boy." she finished, giving him a quick pat on the flank before walking back to the old cabin.

She walking to the living room and flopped down on the couch, resting her head on the armrest and tossing a ripped blanket over her small figure and smiling, once again thinking about living in a safe, protected society, beginning to drift off to sleep without losing the smile.

Right before losing consciousness, she muttered quietly.

"Yep, tomorrow's gonna be a big day."


End file.
